Obama to Negotiate with Wildfire

Illustrating the absurd, with the absurd--what The Onion does best:

Thoughts on the Day...

I don't have a lot of time to post tonight, but just a few thoughts on the day...

First, when I heard the NIE's report the other day that Iran hasn't been seeking nukes since 2003, it hit me as just a little bit more than a brain disconnect. After all, it flied in the face of everything I've been hearing, since 2001 (this year included).

The report concludes that Iran "bowed to international pressure" in its decision to supposedly halt its nuclear program in 2003.

My question: If Ahmawhackjob did indeed bow to international pressure in its decision to halt its nuclear ambitions, ostensibly to give the message, "Hey, don't invade us--we're really not all that bad!" then why the even-recent rhetoric to "blow Israel off the map?" If one abandons nukes because they're afraid of international pressure, then wouldn't it be defeating the purpose by continuing to talk as if you had nukes or were still looking for them? Wouldn't that be the same kind of denial that ultimately got Saddam into trouble? Wouldn't a government wanting to avoid an invasion rather take a Qaddafy-like approach?

The more I look into this matter, the more putrid-smelling it becomes.

My main man Fred Thompson makes the most sense of anyone I've read or heard on the subject.

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Next on the agenda--the Romney "JFK'esque "Don't be afraid of my religion" speech.

Truth be told, I was never afraid of Romney's Mormonism. I was more (and continue to be more) afraid of his being a "successful" governor of one of the most liberal states in the Union. The perpetual home of Sens.- for- life Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, for cripe's sake! For all we know, a Romney candidacy will be George Bush v. 2.0 in terms of social spending and lack of immigration enforcement, and without George Bush's lifelong convictions on the abortion issue, to boot!

As far as I'm concerned, there's a lot more 'splainin' and cowtowing to do in those departments than WRT Romney's possible allegiance to the ideals of Joseph Smith.

At the very least, Romney sucked up all the political oxygen for the day, which was a brilliant move on his part in keeping his name at the forefront of the news cycle.

When it comes down to it, I truly suspect that's what it was all about to begin with.

With regard to Ahmadinejad's Ahmadickhead's speech at Columbia...

This picture paints a thousand words.

Isn't this cause for beheading or something?

Ahmadinejad under fire for embracing his old teacher

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been accused of indecency after he publicly embraced and kissed on the hand an elderly woman who used to be his schoolteacher.

At a ceremony on Tuesday ahead of Iranian teachers' day, Mr Ahmadinejad was photographed and filmed by state media stooping to kiss the woman's hand and then clasping her arms in an embrace.

Read more here.

Her damage done in Syria...

...the venerable "Madame Speaker" Is now thinking of focusing her foreign policy "talents" on Iran:

(04-10) 18:42 PDT -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, just back from a trip to Syria that sparked sharp criticism from Republicans and the Bush administration, suggested Tuesday that they may be interested in taking another diplomatic trip - to open a dialogue with Iran.

The Democratic speaker from San Francisco and Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, were asked at a press conference in San Francisco Tuesday whether on the heels of their recent trip to the Middle East they would be interested in extending their diplomacy in the troubled region with a visit to Iran.

"Speaking just for myself, I would be ready to get on a plane tomorrow morning, because however objectionable, unfair and inaccurate many of (Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's) statements are, it is important that we have a dialogue with him,'' Lantos said. "Speaking for myself, I'm ready to go -- and knowing the speaker, I think that she might be.''

And they have a grand plan, as well:

Lantos noted that "with the speaker's support,'' he has co-sponsored legislation in the House that calls for making available to all countries -- including Iran -- nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes under international oversight by establishing a "nuclear fuel bank."

"So if the Iranian president says that he is developing (nuclear material) for peaceful purposes, we are assisting him in that process,'' said Lantos, who anticipated the legislation could pass as early as May.

There, now don't you feel safer, that the Speaker of the House and her toadie find it perfectly acceptable not only to conduct diplomacy outside of diplomatic channels, but also to take the word of an avowed enemy of the United States, who has repeatedly vowed to "wipe Israel off the map;" that he will only use nuclear technology for "peaceful purposes"?

How utopian! Now everybody, sing along with Nancy and Tom:

~I'd like to teach the world to sing,
In perfect harmoBOOM!!

Regarding gasoline and matches...

A conflagration in the making?

LONDON (AP) -- Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors who had boarded a ship suspected of smuggling cars in the Persian Gulf off the Iraqi coast on Friday, officials said.

The British government demanded "the immediate and safe return of our people and equipment."

The British Navy personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed a ship inspection when they were accosted by Iranian vessels, Britain's Defense Ministry said.

"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the highest level and ... the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office," the ministry said.

The seizure comes at a time of rising tensions between Iran and the West, which accuses the Islamic republic of violating a U.N. calls for it to halt uranium enrichment and open its nuclear program for inspection. It also comes amid U.S. accusations that Iran is funding and arming Shiite militias in Iraq, worsening sectarian tensions there.

This could very well turn into a standoff, the magnitude of gravity which may indeed rival that of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, with the outcome being every bit as important.

It is my hope that the Brits (and us) have the fortitude of JFK in dealing with this.

We cannot well afford to stand down on this one.

***UPDATE****

It looks like it may turn out to be a replay of the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-81.

Iran better know this:

They're not dealing with Jimmy Carter anymore.

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The man is still on drugs.

Obama, that is:

"One of the most profound consequences of the administration's failed strategy in Iraq has been to strengthen Iran's strategic position; reduce U.S. credibility and influence in the region; and place Israel and other nations friendly to the United States in greater peril," Obama told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group.

Now wait a just a minute. Wasn't it Barak Hussein Obama who not too long ago called for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq? Did Obama actually think for one moment that such a move would be a successful strategy, and strengthen U.S. credibility? Is Obama's intellect so vacuous as to think that leaving Iraq for the taking would not strengthen Iran's strategic position in the region, thus leaving the United States and Israel in even greater peril?

To add a little psych lingo here, Obama and his other fellow democrat travellers suffer from poor insight and reality testing; exacerbated by tendencies toward magical thinking and denial. Magical thinking, in that, so they think, so it must be; and denial that any of their harebrained ideas and/or seditionist rhetoric could possibly result in catastrophic consequences.

To say that Bush's is a failed strategy, while themselves prescribing a "strategy" that is in and of itself failure by definition, is either the height of hypocrisy, the height of incompetence, or both.

I don't care what happened last election. It's still not safe to vote democrat.
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Courtesy of our friends, the Russkys...

It appears that any would-be attempt at taking out Iran's nuclear capability has just gotten harder:

Iran tests Tor-M1 air defense system

TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Iran announced Wednesday it had run a successful test of its new Russian-supplied air defense system.

"Iran has successfully tested the Tor-M1 air defense missile system recently supplied by Russia," the RIA Novosti news agency reported from Tehran. It cited a report also published Wednesday from Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The report said the tests were carried out by the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that controls the country's nuclear forces.

"The tests were part of military exercises that began in southern Iran Wednesday after Russia completed the delivery of 29 Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran in late January under a $700 million contract signed at the end of 2005," RIA Novosti said.

The Tor-M1 is believed to be effective against attacking aircraft to an altitude of 30,000 feet, or about 6 miles. It is believed to be Russia's most advanced anti-aircraft missile defense system. Russia announced last month it had completed supplying the system to Iran under an agreed contract.

The Tor-M1 and other Russian arms and advanced technology sales to iran angered the U.S. government and it has imposed economic sanctions on the Russian government's official arms dealer Rosoboronexport and on two Russian other companies involved in the Tor-M1 deal with Iran. .

RIA Novosti described the Tor-M1 as "a high-precision missile system designed to destroy aircraft, manned or unmanned, and cruise missiles flying at an altitude of up to 10 kilometers (6 miles). It was introduced at the Russian aerospace show MAKS in 2005. Each system is equipped with eight short-range missiles, associated radars, fire control systems and a battery command post."

Kinda like giving Hannibal Lecter a home torture kit. The more I think about this, the more I think that Hal Lindsey was right:

Iran is protected by its chief nuclear suppliers in Russia, complicating the situation even more. Moscow has hundreds of billions of dollars invested in Iran's nuclear programs. Iran's nuclear facilities are crawling with Russian scientists, advisers, technicians, security personnel – and their families.

[SNIP]

The prophet Ezekiel predicted the development of a vast alliance that would include Russia, Persia (Iran) "and many people with thee" in the last days that would launch a surprise invasion of Israel. (emphases added)

So how does Israel fit into all this? A Texas oil company, Genco, recently announced the discovery of a large oil field near the Dead Sea. Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer called the strike "just the beginning."

British Natural Gas announced the discovery of a vast natural gas deposit 20 miles offshore of Tel Aviv. Initial estimates suggest some 3.5 trillion cubic feet in proved reserves.

Zion Oil has sunk eight exploratory wells, all of which have shown signs of oil and gas. Zion founder John Brown believes the amount of oil reserves hidden beneath Israel could rival that of Saudi Arabia.

A massive oil strike in Israel would completely change the balance of power in the Middle East. Such an oil- strike could potentially break the back of OPEC. It is unlikely OPEC would admit Israel as a member, regardless of how much oil she had.

That would seem to leave but one option, best expressed by my friend Joel Rosenberg's novel of the same name.

The Ezekiel Option.

You may take Russia out of the Soviet Union, but it appears you can't take the Soviet Union out of the Russkies.

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